Jacques Laplante likes to think of illustrators as artists who capture a society's life and times - that a good illustrator will go beyond the mere visual reflection of a book's text. "Illustrators reflect the era in which we live," he says.

Laplante’s characters have appeared in many publications and ads worldwide. They communicate with humor, warmth and simplicity. "Every project," he says, "unfurls like a butterfly, and every impending deadline represents a new surge of color and emotion."